classicsoncall This has turned out to be my longest review in the making, as I began watching "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" episode by episode once it began with the first story on the Encore Western Channel, estimating that to be back in June of 2016 or so. My viewing was made poignant around the third season I think, with Hugh O'Brian's passing on September 5th, 2016. Interestingly, if you catch a Western in which O'Brian appeared before this series began, it's often as a villain. Perhaps that's why, when you catch the traditional opening of each show, O'Brian is shown stepping out of the Marshal's office with that sly, 'cat that ate the canary' grin on his face, that seems to be saying, 'What am I doing here with a gig like this'? In alternate opening scenes in later seasons, O'Brian makes use of the same expression to varying degrees, so maybe it was just his way of being thankful for the role.Stories in the series seem to be loosely based on Wyatt Earp's career as a lawman and his affiliation with characters of the Old West like Doc Holliday, the Clanton Gang, and members of his own family, like brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp. Many of the stories in the series were inspired by the real life Wyatt Earp biographer Stuart Lake, whose reputation for accuracy is more likely to be described as fictional. In fact, Hugh O'Brian has a line in Episode #1.29 - 'The Pinkertons', which seems to address this when he says - "Most of that stuff's (referring to history) just written from hearsay by men that are too lazy to dig up the facts". I thought that was pretty interesting.Generally though, the series does an admirable job in tracing Wyatt Earp's career as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, with Season One following him from Ellsworth, Kansas, on to Wichita (5th episode), and then to Dodge City for the start of the Second Season. With O'Brian's matinée idol good looks and fine physique, it was only a matter of time before the show's producers would write him into a beefcake scene. That happened with Episode #2.39 - 'Wyatt's Love Affair'. Don't let the title of the story fool you though, O'Brian's shirt gets torn off during a fight scene against the foreman of a cattle outfit.With all these early TV Westerns, I'm always on the lookout for celebrity names that eventually went on to bigger and better things. There weren't a lot of big names to appear in this series, some of the familiar character actors of the era who appeared in the show included Bob Steele, Gordon Jones, Harry Lauter, Glenn Strange and Richard Devon. However a few noteworthy future stars who made it into the stories included Angie Dickinson, James Coburn and Louise Fletcher.One thing that happened regularly throughout the course of the series run was the use of the same actor for different roles in different seasons. An example would be Douglas Fowley and Myron Healey, both of whom portrayed Doc Holliday at different times. I particularly liked Fowley's version as an irascible gunman who continuously goaded Wyatt to be more forceful by killing more outlaws. Instead, Marshal Earp probably whacked as many bad guys over the head as Chuck Connors shot and killed in his own series, "The Rifleman".With two hundred and twenty seven episodes, it would be hard to pick a favorite, but one of the more memorable ones, even if entirely made up, was one that brought a host of legendary gunmen to Wyatt's aid in a gunfight. In Episode #2.72 - 'The Time For All Good Men', Wyatt is joined by gunmen Ben Thompson, Mannen Clements, John Wesley Hardin, and Clay Allison, along with Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson, against a gang of outlaws intent on killing Earp. Not much credibility to the story, but it was cool to have all those names in one place at one time.The final season of the show introduced the OK Corral in the first episode, and the stories built up to the famous showdown between the Earps and Doc Holliday against the Clantons and McLaurys on October 28th, 1881. The final four episodes take an interesting approach. Instead of portraying the Gunfight at the OK Corral entirely from start to finish, it's shown in a series of flashbacks based on Wyatt Earp's court testimony after the gunfight. What I found amazing was how accurately the event was portrayed from the standpoint of known, recorded history. The real deal lasted only about thirty seconds with around thirty shots fired between the two factions. Trying to keep track, I came up with counts of 35, 36 and 39 through various replays, so if you're of a mind to do so, you might give it a try yourself if the opportunity ever presents itself.

raysond This prime-time Emmy nominated series along with "Gunsmoke", and "Cheyenne" set the stage that launched a great era of television Westerns. "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" was one of the tremendously popular half-hour shows that featured changes in locate while adding characters and changes of the actors playing the parts. Originally offer to George Montgomery, the title part went to lean and athletic actor Hugh O'Brien who remained with the series throughout it's entire six-year run who appeared in all 229 episodes. This was one of the great Desilu produced Westerns to come out of the mid-1950's with big name guest stars and superb writing and direction in all episodes. "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" premiered on ABC's prime-time schedule on September 6, 1955 premiering exactly four days before "Gunsmoke"(which aired on a rival television network) and produced by Robert Sisk, Louis F. Edelman, and Roy Rowland(who served as the executive producers of this series). "Wyatt Earp" was placed on ABC's Tuesday night schedule in prime-time for the remainder of it's run which aired at 8:30pm eastern/7:30pm central. The series was produced by Desilu Productions(the production company founded by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball)and was filmed at the Desilu-Cahuenga Studios. The show's sponsors throughout it's run were The General Mills Corporation, Proctor & Gamble, and The Parker Pen Company. A total of 229 episodes were produced in black and white from September 6, 1955 until the final episode of the series on June 27,1961. Interesting note about this show. An off-camera barbershop quartet(The Ken Darby Singers)sang the theme song and hummed the background music during the first two seasons.Hugh O'Brien was the perfect choice as Wyatt Earp,the fictional character whose reign of law and order in the Old West set the stage for what was to come. During the series six-year run, it started with Wyatt's experiences as the deputy town marshal for the first four episodes in Ellsworth, Kansas and then moving towards Wichita,Kansas. There the show shifted from his stint in Dodge City, Kansas to Tombstone,Arizona Territory(toward the show's final two seasons). This brilliantly produced and intelligent writing of this series brought on board great guest stars as well as keeping TV-Viewers tuned in for some great action sequences that made this show stand out from all the other Westerns that came during the mid-1950's. Some of the best writers lend themselves to some of the great episodes ranging from John Dunkel to Wells Root, Frederick Hazlitt-Brennan, Buck Houghton, Dan Ullman, to Michael Fessier, Thomas Reed, Richard Sanville, and Celeste Plank. Big name directors like Frank McDonald, Roy Rowland, Paul Landres, Sidney Salkow and Lewis R. Foster contribute to some of the episodes.Several big name guest stars appeared on this series ranging from newcomers like Angie Dickinson, Ed Nelson, James Coburn, Stacy Harris, Mike Connors(the future "Mannix"), Ron Ely(the future "Tarzan"),and James Best, Robert Fuller(the future "Laramie"), along with Steve Brodie to seasoned actors like Morgan Woodward, Paul Brinegar, Ray Kellogg, Denver Pyle, Lash La Rue, to Glenn Strange, John Anderson, John Dehner, Gloria Talbott, Gregory Walcott, Jean Allison, Harold J. Stone, along with Barney Phillips, Adele Mara, Whit Bissell, Sheb Wooley, Eddy Waller, John Carradine, Patricia Donahue, Frank Ferguson, Ellen Corby, and Marie Windsor. After "The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp" was canceled on June 27, 1961 after six seasons and 229 episodes, the show that replaced it in the fall of 1961 was the short-lived situation comedy series "Calvin and the Colonel"

gemsbok-46029 I love the old western programs from the 50's and 60's. This show would have been much better if it didn't have all that humming in the background.I have watched every episode of The Rifleman and enjoy these shows every day on Me TV. The movies on Wyatt Earp starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell were both fantastic. I watch them every time they are shown on TV. I think the Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp could have been done better by having an older actor play Bat Masterson rather than portray him as a young inexperienced man. Besides all that I still watch the show and enjoy it as I do all westerns.

cootum When TV Land recently began showing reruns of "Wyatt Earp," I had forgotten that, apparently in the early episodes, the only music heard was an a cappella male quartet. Not only did they sing the theme song, but periodically during those episodes, to augment certain special "drama," they would chime in, humming either low in the background for sentimentality, or swelling to full volume when the emotions were supposed to be at peak. The only lyrics heard were those of the theme song; otherwise, the musical accompaniment consisted entirely of that periodic humming in four-part harmony. Written out, it appeared, "mmmm-oooooo-AAAAHHHH-OOOOOHHH!!" Bypassing a full orchestra was one sure way to save a chunk of cash for the budget. Then in other, perhaps later, episodes, orchestral music replaced that humming, and the a cappella quartet only sang the theme song. I must admit that the humming contributed a rather corny element to the show.